Sometimes it’s lamb stew on the menu, other times it’s roast duck. For the past few months, Marina Bay Sands (MBS) has been donating excess food prepared for banquets to the less fortunate. On each occasion, an average of 50 to 80 trays of unserved, blast-frozen cooked dishes are delivered for same-day consumption.

Under the watchful eye of Executive Chef Christopher Christie, kitchen staff check the food is at -5°C to -10°C before packing them into thermal boxes. Staff from The Food Bank Singapore stand ready to load them into a van for delivery.

– 90% of consumers are concerned about the food waste generated by F&B companies – 95% of consumers want F&B companies to do more to reduce food waste – Consumers are willing to support F&B companies which adopt strategies to reduce food waste

Singapore, 5 Aug 2015 – Majority of consumers are concerned about food waste generated by food and beverage (F&B) companies and would encourage and support the companies to reduce food waste, according to a recent survey conducted to understand consumer attitudes toward food waste generated by the F&B sector in Singapore. The study was conducted from Feb to Apr this year by the students under the Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Programme from the National University of Singapore, in partnership with the new non-profit organisation, Zero Waste SG.

According to the National Environment Agency, about 790,000 tonnes of food waste was generated in Singapore in 2014 and only 13% of this waste is recycled. Consumers can reduce food waste on an individual level, but can also play an important role in advocating for greater efforts and best practices in food waste reduction by the F&B sector. With this premise, the study aims to understand consumers’ attitude towards food waste and how they hope F&B companies (including retail shops selling food; bakeries; cafes; restaurants; food courts; canteens; hawker centres; markets; supermarkets; and caterers) can contribute to the reduction of food waste. Read more

For many businesses, excess food is merely waste to be thrown away. But for charities, it represents a precious resource.

They can redistribute the supplies to the needy, ensuring that nothing is wasted. All they need is to be matched with appropriate donors.

This is where Food Bank Singapore comes in. The soon-to-be-opened centre – with the motto: ‘Do not bin it when you can still eat it’- will be the first to coordinate food donation across the island.

Its co-founders, Ms Nichol Ng and her brother Nicholas, are managing directors of FoodXervices, which supplies more than 3,000 products to 2,000 end customers. They realised there was a lot of waste in the food business and a shortage in the welfare sector. So they set up the bank, which allows them to use their industry contacts to find donors and match them with appropriate recipients.

‘Because we’re in the food industry and we do know suppliers, we can hopefully get more surplus food than if it were just one organisation,’ said Mr Ng, 33. The bank will also help logistically by storing, transporting and distributing donated food. This could include unopened packages or fresh food from suppliers and retailers such as supermarkets.